There are a variety tightening or closure systems that employ a lace or cable based reel for tightening an article, such as orthopedic or prosthetic devices. One conventional type of tightening system includes a lace attached to a rotary tightening system which allows for incremental adjustment of the tension of the lace.
While such tightening systems can be effective at tightening an article over a user, they suffer from a number of drawbacks. One of these drawbacks is the inability to prevent over tensioning of the system. As a result, there is a risk that the user may over tighten the system, and cause injury to the user. For instance, in an orthopedic device which requires precise and prescribed tightening to treat an injury, the user must not further aggravate the injury by creating too much pressure over the injury due to excessive tightening of the tightening system. Further, known tightening systems lack the ability to adjust the maximum tension limit of the lace, significantly hindering the functionality of the tightening system in various treatment protocols.
It can be seen from the foregoing there are many needs for improving on the drawbacks of conventional tightening systems. The embodiments of the present disclosure address these aforementioned shortcomings.